How to Retrieve German Characters from a Large CSV File into SQL Server 2017

Learn how to properly import German characters from a CSV file into SQL Server 2017 using BULK INSERT with the correct code page settings.
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Importing German Characters from CSV into SQL Server 2017

When dealing with data imports, special characters can often complicate the process, particularly for languages like German that include unique characters such as 'ö', 'ä', and 'ß'. If you’re working with a CSV file that contains employee names and these special characters, you may run into issues when importing this data into SQL Server 2017.

In this guide, we’ll walk through the problem of retrieving German characters from a large CSV file and how to resolve it effectively.

Understanding the Problem

You have a CSV file containing a list of employees, some of which include German characters. In your SQL Server script, even when using the NVARCHAR data type, the characters appear corrupted when imported, such as the name "Kösker" showing up as "K├╢sker". This issue arises from the encoding used during the CSV import process.

Key Points to Consider:

Data Type: Ensure you are using NVARCHAR for storing Unicode data.

Collation: While collations determine how string comparison is performed, incorrect encoding during import might still lead to issues with special characters.

CSV Format: CSV files have specific encoding, and without the right settings, special characters will not be represented correctly.

Solution: Using BULK INSERT with the Correct Code Page

To successfully import the data while maintaining the integrity of the German characters, we need to adjust the BULK INSERT command. Specifically, we’ll include the CODEPAGE option in the query. Here’s how to implement the solution step-by-step:

Step 1: Create the Temporary Table

First, you will need to create a temporary table in SQL Server to hold the imported data. Here is the SQL script for creating the table:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Step 2: Adjust the BULK INSERT Command

Modify the BULK INSERT command to include the CODEPAGE option. Setting the code page to 65001 (which represents UTF-8 encoding) will fix the character issues. Adjust your SQL script like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Important Notes:

FIRSTROW = 2: Skip the header row in the CSV file.

FIELDTERMINATOR and ROWTERMINATOR: Define how the data is structured in the CSV.

Ensure File Encoding: Make sure that the CSV file is saved in UTF-8 format, as this aligns with setting CODEPAGE = '65001'.

Conclusion

By incorporating the CODEPAGE = '65001' into your BULK INSERT statement, you can effectively handle the import of special characters such as German characters from your CSV file into SQL Server 2017. This simple adjustment can save you a lot of headaches when dealing with international data sets.

Feel free to reach out if you have any more questions or need further assistance with SQL Server imports!